


Birth of the Seishun

by bookwyrmling



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 07:57:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11893380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookwyrmling/pseuds/bookwyrmling
Summary: Commander Ryuzaki Sumire shows off her newest project to the ISEF Board of Directors.





	Birth of the Seishun

**Author's Note:**

> So I’ve talked and talked about Space AU and solosorca and notapillowfight have written and drawn for it and referred to it as mine, but that just didn’t seem write without doing some writing for it, myself. SO! Here is a before-the-beginning piece.
> 
> It won’t line up quite exactly with solosorca‘s because everyone writes a bit differently, BUT it was a scene that I simply had to write. The creation of the Seishun!

“Ah, Commander Ryuzaki, I know the board is happy you are finally ready to present your next project. There were rumblings over how long it was taking despite the large amount of funds provided.”

Sumire pursed her lips and clenched her fists behind her back as she stared at the elevator floor sign, watching the feet fly by as they rose past where artificial gravity was required and up to the counterweight and waiting short-distance vessel.

“Well, Banji, some of us would rather not risk another incident like what happened on the Yamabuki last solar cycle,” she replied with a forced smile for the video drone trained on the three of them, knowing exactly who was watching the live feed and how much she would need to impress them.

“Ahhhh.”

Sumire and Mikiya both turned to the other companion in the elevator—the only one who hadn’t groaned when the artificial gravity had turned on and the lightness that had been creeping up on their aging bodies had disappeared.

The elevator slowed to its stop and dinged just as the door slid open to the typical organized chaos of any spaceport.

“Generals, welcome to TES-2. If you will follow me to the bay, your transit awaits,” a young man spoke and saluted the three. Ryuzaki and Mikiya both saluted in return, while Ojii reached into his pocket before holding his fist out.

“Candy,” he said, waving the young man closer with his other hand before dropping the wrapped hard candy into his hand with a smile.

“Er…thank you, Sir,” the man said as he closed his fingers around the piece before turning and leading the three into the hangar where an ion-propulsion ship meant for the short trip between TES-2 and the lunar orbital spacestation, which was their ultimate destination, waited. It was only once the vessel had obtained clearance and taken off, leaving behind the spaceport that served as counterweight to ISEF’s second space elevator, that conversation picked up again.

“With as quick a timetable as you have presented to us and the board, I imagine you already have a crew roster more or less decided on?” Mikiya asked with his ever present smile and Sumire could feel the holes he was attempting to poke in her project.

She smirked. “If you had taken the time to peruse the supplement earlier, you might have noticed the roster beginning on page 8. This is a large project and there are still spaces to fill, but I believe the names you recognize in leadership positions will help to give an idea of what I am looking to build,” she spoke carefully, with just enough censure to not be caught unaware while sniping at Mikiya’s barbed words.

Sumire watched as both men pulled up the holodocs and scrolled through them to page 8, faces furrowing as they read through a number of familiar names.

“This is….”Mikiya began before pursing his lips. Ojii hummed and nodded his head and Sumire smiled with pride, ready for the questions she knew would come.

“Your choice for captain is an interesting one, General,” Mikiya finally began.

“Tezuka has substantial experience as a combatant and battalion leader,” Sumire explained, “He has also long since passed the tests required for captaincy qualification. He was beginning to learn on his last duty station—“

“You mean under Yamato?” Mikiya cut in, “After what happened there, did he even receive any experience? Do we want him to have? The last thing ISEF needs is another severe military loss. The man surrendered.”

“Yamato was a brilliant captain and made his decision with the lives of the entire ship at the forefront,” Sumire rebutted, “If the original calls for distress when they were ambushed had been appropriately responded to, there might not have been need for surrender.”

“We had to ransom every single one of them!”

“But they are alive and home.”

Sumire eyed Ojii, curious as to his responses. The man rarely spoke and his body grew frailer each year, but his mind was still a steel trap and no one dared mention retirement around him. Ojii smiled at her and that was all Sumire needed to continue.

“Tezuka has been cleared for duty by both a psychologist and medical doctor and is interested in the position. He has taken on extra courses and personal training to prepare and will be participating as first lieutenant in a small reconnaissance trip in the Proxima Centauri system in two months. He’ll be back in plenty of time to take leave before taking charge of the Seishun,” Sumire explained. “His military prowess is what helped hold the ambush of the Yume Utsutsu back for as long as it did. He was awarded a medal of honor for his acts and is still held in substantial respect both in ISEF and the world at large. He has received direct commendation from our interstellar allies. It’s not every day Rikkai is held at bay. Do you still wish to question his assignment?”

“I believe that is reason enough for the board,” Mikiya merely smiled before continuing down the list. “I see you have enlisted Fuji Syusuke for Communications. I assumes this means you are not planning on deep space missions. Yet you have quite a broad spectrum of scientists. Inui Sadaharu? Your own granddaughter?”

“The Seishun is made for medium to long-range assignments,” Sumire answered, “While it has the capacity for deep space ventures, it is built with staying in mapped quadrants in mind. The threat of the Rikkai Collective has become stronger every year and their ambush of the Yume Utsutsu and obliteration of the Kanagawa blockade within the last decade means they are on their way and will be here sooner rather than later. The Seishun is an experiment of mine. If it is successful, I suggest we switch to mass productions of similarly classed vessels who are able to stand up against the Rikkai fleet alone.”

“Alone?!”

Her communicator instantly flew to life with notifications and the video drone zoomed in on her face as the board made its concerns clear. Sumire only smiled, crossed her arms and opened communications with the small craft’s pilot. “About how far are we from LOS?” she asked.

“We’ll be docking in under an hour,” the pilot replied.

“You should be seeing it come into view in the next fifteen minutes,” the copilot added.

“Thank you, ladies,” Sumire replied before brushing the video drone away and muting her communicator.

“General Ryuzaki, are you truly suggesting one ship as being capable of standing up against the onslaught of the Rikkai Collective?” Mikiya asked and Sumire sighed.

“First,” she pointed out, “The Collective, for the most part, is never at full strength. Fleets are lead by several separate heads as far as intel has been able to suggest. The Seishun is built to, under correct response and leadership, withstand and fight off the onslaught of one fleet. It is meant to survive.”

“We are not ready for war.”

“No, we’re not. And the Seishun is not solely a warship. It’s mainly a patrol ship. It is not meant to seek the Rikkai to purposefully engage in combat. Not yet,” Sumire continued, “The Seishun is fully equipped with a research lab and will be staffed by a multitude of science officers who have education in a broad spectrum of fields. It means there can be direct and instantaneous action taken by the scientific community on board to deal with biochemical attacks or any unknown substances they meet with. Inui Sadaharu, Chief Science Officer, actually volunteered for the position.” Sumire honestly wasn’t sure how he had found out about it, but she would not complain over holding the interest of one of the top ISEF scientists, even if his methods were unusual. “As for my granddaughter’s presence on the list, she will be graduating top of her division in five months time and has worked as a research assistant for Inui. Her presence is based on his recommendation.”

“But if they are not actively seeking out Rikkai, what are they doing otherwise?” Mikiya asked, “I do not see the point of this project. The few times they may run into Rikkai notwithstanding—assuming they do make it through successfully—is the project worth the funds being poured into it?”

“The Seishun is meant to patrol in areas more likely to be targeted by Rikkai, so as to catch sightings and hold them off before any incursions make it too far into our space,” Sumire continued to argue, “Which means the likelihood of them meeting a fleet is increased substantially. Outside of patrol and vigilance for distress calls, as well as drills to keep in top form, however, the Seishun, with its fully staffed science division working in cooperation with the ship as a whole, is capable of furthering our understanding of different planets and systems in their patrol areas. Probes tell us the basics, but it takes more than a few samples and data readings every two-hundred years to tell us what we’re looking at and how best to make use of it.”

“Hmm hmm hmm,” Ojii hummed in approval with a smile on his face. Sumire knew he would understand. A measurable amount of how she had built and planned this ship was taken from how deep space exploratory groups were cross-trained and had multi-use positions and functionalities. It required very flexible individuals and was not always the easiest to staff, but the groups that succeeded were a boon to ISEF. Ojii’s own Rokkaku was proof enough of that. It was a major reason she would be speaking with Ojii further about her proposed roster—but only when Mikiya had left.

Mikiya, on the other hand, had turned back to the holodoc, scrolling through name after name and Sumire wondered if he had finally reached the end of his questions when he slammed the breaks on his perusing, eyes opening wide in delicious shock. “Is this whom I think it is?”

Sumire smiled, knowing the exact name he had stumbled upon. “Indeed,” she confirmed, “Echizen Ryoma is the son of that Echizen Nanjiroh.”

“He can’t be old enough,” Mikiya argued, but Sumire could see the interest in his eyes behind the surprise and disbelief.

“He was raised in America and you know they begin combat training early. He passed the exams for ISEF at age 12 and has completed his formal training as of last year,” Sumire stated smugly, “I reached out to his father and obtained confirmation of interest. As soon as everything is approved here today, I will be sending out contracts to everyone on this list.”

Mikiya’s tense shoulders seemed to loosen a bit as he leaned back in his seat after closing the holodoc, “So he is just one of the standard pilots, then, not leadership…”

“Well, that is up to the ship’s captain,” Sumire argued, “Tezuka knows best what will work with his ship, but Echizen Ryoma is a commissioned ISEF officer and could, indeed, take on a position of command.”

“But a child?”

“For any who have concerns as to Echizen Ryoma’s abilities, I highly recommend you look into his personnel file. Even before completing his training, he was probably one of the top fighter pilots ISEF held.” Sumire looked down at her watch to check the time and smirked as she looked back up at her audience—including those watching by screen through the video drone—and asked, “Any further questions?”

When she was met with silence she looked out the front window as the turned the last few degrees to face not only the lunar orbital spacestation, but a large ship making its way from the docking bay.

“Ahhh,” Ojii supplied as he stood and walked over to the window for a closer look. Sumire sent a side-eyed glance at Mikiya to see his eyes wide in surprise as he white-knuckled the arms of his chair.

“Ladies and gentlemen and those in between and outside,” Sumire introduced with a proud smirk as she faced the front windshield and the gargantuan ship that was now passing directly in front of them, “May I introduce to you the Seishun. It will be marked fully operational upon completion of today’s successful test run. After which, I will be more than happy to take you all on a tour.”


End file.
